Mindset of a Winning Entrepreneur

What is the mindset of a winning entrepreneur? More importantly, a winning millennial entrepreneur trying to break out as a small business in an old traditional marketplace.

In today’s business environment it takes a multitude of different skills to be an entrepreneur in the current chaotic markets. Technology and the millennial generation has embraced becoming very good at doing multiple things at once very well.

We no longer work in office environments where people have one or even a few roles. We learn online all the time, and we are always pushing to change and be better and into the next thing. We have become very good at sending emails, using CRM, web design, SEO, marketing and doing all of these different things but what if I told you that’s not what it is all about.

Many studies have been completed on millennial entrepreneurs who have had much success in this new world economy that typically did not produce successful business owners at such a young age. These studies are crucial as we are seeing more and more millennial founders raise money, bring their ideas to market, and change the current landscape of the business marketplace more over the last ten years than we have in the fifty years prior.

In all of these studies, many of the same things were discovered. Millennial entrepreneurs define success as doing what you love and getting to choose what you wish to do. This mindset is different than the previous generations which were concerned with creating cash rich business, looking successful, and other things. This has caused drastic changes in the business landscape for young entrepreneurs but what does it take to succeed in this new world economy and marketplace?

It takes a proper mindset. The right mindset allows you to complete any task regardless of the stress at hand, or the unknown. A true entrepreneur has to have a mentality that they will succeed and not just I am going to work hard. Entrepreneurs are risk takers by nature and risk is most closely associated with success and failure but how do you break that mindset for growth and capitalizing on your real potential?

This mindset of open change and adaptation is more important than ever in today’s business landscape. When I was young, I compound fractured my forearm as a young chef. I then had a complication in sugary severing my radial nerve causing me to lose movement in my entire left hand. I view this case as plan A for me.

I was a young and talented chef; I had some incredible opportunities to work with celebrity chefs, master chefs, and many other incredibly talented people. I planned to become this amazing chef that would cook the best food in the world naturally. I was going to open these restaurants all over, and people would just flock to come and eat my food. Well after my injury I quickly realized that this was no longer my exact plan and I had to change, I had to adapt to this new environment.

At the time, a young 20-year-old kid, now lost in my career and life as I had everything bundled up into my dreams of being this amazing chef: it broke me. It took away everything I had planned, and it was not the business decisions I made or life decisions I made at that point. It was the mindset that I learned to pay attention to and focus on. The mindset that I was not going to let anything stop me from being successful in my mind. I drilled down to the fact that for me I loved the food I made and wanted as many people as possible to benefit from it.

At that point I started to realize then it didn’t matter if I lost movement both hands at that point I was determined to create something that allowed me to build my dream regardless of anything else. How I could change my plan based on this mindset to start at growing our company now Global Food Solutions Company which helps feed tens of millions of kids yearly and reaches millions of other people as well all around the USA.

The mindset allowed me to be faced with any challenge after that and I could not be broken. It taught me to change, adapt, be open minded to things, and most importantly stay mentally strong through everything as I worked in this new mindset.

So what were my keys to unlocking this Mindset?

Self-Awareness

Self-Awareness is one of the most important traits for any entrepreneur no matter what industry or age. Always pay attention to your surroundings and how you act. Not just when at a casual business meeting to turn it into a real business discussion, when to network in a friendly and nonbusiness way, how to act in a board room and then transition later in the day to the guy who is sweeping out the loading dock.

No, I am talking about actually being aware of yourself. What is bothering you, what is causing you to be distracted. Focus on these things, clean them from your slate and keep things moving forward. Self-Awareness can put you in a better frame of mind to be focusing on the more important things for the future.

Be Semi Realistic

We read a lot about people who founded companies like Facebook and Uber and truth is the odds for most of us are so small, and we are probably never going to build a business that large. There are only so many Unicorn Startups, I’m not saying it cannot happen every second of the day, but by numbers, it is highly difficult but not impossible.

But why spend so much time learning from them when most businesses do not operate like that? Be realistic in your goals, set them as far as you can reach but always keep things obtainable. Those founders did not think their idea would come this far either and that’s part of the success that comes with pushing yourself to the next goal.

Grit

Now I am not just talking about hustle in the sense of tagging your social media posts with #workhard, #hustle, or #grind.

No, I am speaking about grit when you lose $100,000 and have to walk into a meeting 15 minutes later and act as if nothing happened. When you have to fly to Chicago from New York in the morning and then Chicago to Los Angeles that same night to make a dinner meeting before taking the red eye home that same evening. I have been the guy standing on the podium at an event and the end of the day cleaning the bathroom.

When you are forced to figure it out a new way because you can’t afford it the other way, or something didn’t work out to the “plan.” Do what it takes. Grit is truly something people notice and will set you apart from the rest. You do not always have to be the smartest if you are willing to work the hardest. Simple but most people just think they are too busy all the time. Spend countless hours on your craft and talent. Age no longer plays a role it’s about learning, education and those who work hard just get there faster. The old saying, if it were easy everyone else would do it could not be truer.

Fear of Success

It’s ok to be afraid of the dark but the real shame is when you are afraid of the light.

Believe in yourself and your ideas more than anyone else. The fear of failure is not greater than a sense of hope and belief. Keep pushing for the next thing, keep working hard, keep your goals in mind, and actively act on the life you want to make for yourself.

Michael is a dynamic and innovative entrepreneur, who is especially passionate about working with kids and the millennial generation on a vision to drive healthy and sustainable change in the food industry. Michael is CEO and Founder of Global Food Solutions which currently produces over 150+ different products under 7 trademarks, providing over 100 million servings annually to school kids across America.